CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1916—2016 Sports: Proposal for Meet Gender UAlbany’s Neutral Secret Housing Weapon PAGE 2 PAGE 10 ALBANY STUDENT PRESS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017 ISSUE 5 ALBANYSTUDENTPRESS.NET New Development Aids in Ebola Detection By ELISE COOMBS placed substances that indicate disease— That means that it could biomarkers—into the urine to mimic a take years before the kit is Detecting Ebola with the naked eye is real-life Ebola scenario. commercialized. now possible due to a method developed by Then, a small particle called a gold The company would first a University at Albany research team. nanoparticle, binds to these biomarkers need to see that the research The new method means a cost-effective, until they grow bigger and change color. has a patent before they do quick, and easy way to detect Ebola. With If the color is red, that indicates the Ebola multiple rounds of testing. the method, detection results occur within virus is present. If it is purple, there is no The testing would involve an hour or two and could cost just $1 per infection. mimicked samples of Ebola, person, according to Mehmet Yigit, the The team’s method included and if this is successful chemistry professor leading the research nanotechnology—manipulating small they would then test it with team at the RNA Institute. particles. real samples of Ebola, Yigit aims to produce a kit that would Even with this developed method, which would require more allow screening for a big population more producing the kit would require partnering advanced resources. effectively than current methods, which can with a commercial service. For testing at UAlbany, take weeks or months and cost thousands However, because the team used Yigit joked, “They would of dollars. nanotechnology in the health arena instead probably prison me if I bring In developing the method, Yigit used of in technology such as cell phones and in an Ebola sample here.” urine samples instead of blood because computers, the stakes are higher. If the tests are they are more easily accessible. The team “There is life at the end of the product,” Elise Coombs / Albany Student Press Please see EBOLA page 2 Yigit said. ADMIN GRADUATION Budget Unease Amid New Changes to Details for Presidential Commencement Schedule By LINDSEY RIBACK Search Recent changes to University at Albany’s May By TYLER MCNEIL Commencement Weekend received a mixed reaction Up to $245,000 could come out from graduates, despite the of university coffers in the hunt for administration’s promise of potential picks to head the University creating a unified experience at Albany. for all. Russell Reynolds Associates, In the past the May ceremony an international search firm, was has featured 30 ceremonies in recently tapped to lead in the roughly 12 venues, and now University Senate’s presidential the weekend, May 19 through search under a $200,000 contract 21, will be condensed into 11 with an extra $45,000 cap on events in four venues, according additional expenses. to university spokesman Karl Through Freedom of Information Luntta. Four specific changes Law, the Albany Student Press have been made: there are now requested the full contract last undergraduate ceremonies by week. The contract is expected to be school or college as opposed to released by Mar. 21. per department, Friday is now On Friday, the presidential designated solely for graduate search committee first met with the students, ceremonies for each firm. Planning to send three to four graduate department have recommendations to the SUNY board been eliminated, and now the of trustees by June, the presidential university will only have a May search committee expects to commencement weekend. interview potential candidates within Traditionally, undergraduates the months ahead. and graduate students would Source: Ualbanyphotos.com Michael Castellana, chair of graduate from their specific department together. However, the University Council, has not Sunday as the university-wide students and families,” Luntta individual departments in the this year Friday is reserved for mentioned a backup plan should the graduation. said. past, the university was “in graduate students, Saturday SUNY board of trustees not accept “We wanted to create a He went on to explain that a sense competing against for undergraduate college or unified signature weekend for all with so many events and Please see PRES page 2 school-specific graduations and Please see GRAD page 3 SEXUALITY MONTH Speaker Sheds Light on Nonbianary Myths By MILO VOTAVA Individuals who are nonbinary are used for nonbinary people, the most do not identify as one of the binary common is “they.” However, some Over 75 people gathered for a talk genders: male or female. There are nonbinary people still use typically about spreading nonbinary awareness different gender identities that fall gendered pronouns such as “he” or on Wednesday at the Campus Center. under the umbrella of “nonbinary,” “she” due to any number of personal Kaleb Dornheim hosted the talk, such as genderqueer, which Dornheim reasons, while still being nonbinary Nonbinary Myths and Realities, as part explained as a person that identifies and knowing that the gendered of Sexuality Month at the University at with having a gender that is queer and pronoun does not refer to their own Albany. non-normative, or agender, which is gender. UAlbany students taking sociology when a person identifies not having a As part of the talk, Dornheim had classes and members of Alpha Phi gender. people get up and choose a color to Omega — a co-ed community service While nonbinary can be used as an represent their gender, and write it on fraternity — attended the talk. The umbrella term, and people who are a poster that was hanging in the front fraternity asked its members to go to agender or genderqueer can identify as of the room. Many people, regardless one of the Sexuality Month talks. nonbinary, not everyone that identifies of how they identified, chose colors Dornheim, a graduate student and as being nonbinary is genderqueer or besides blue and pink; and the purpose president of Sexuality Intersectionality agender. of the exercise was to show how Gender Hangout, began the discussion Dornheim also introduced the idea personal a concept gender is, and that with a brief overview of what being of using different pronouns. While having to constrain people to two rigid Milo Votava / Albany Student Press “nonbinary” means. there are many different pronouns that Please see SPEAKER page 3 PRINTED BY THE TIMES UNION, ALBANY, NEW YORK — A HEARST CORPORATION NEWSPAPER EDITOR: STEFAN LEMBO-STOLBA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017 2 [email protected] NEWS ALBANY STUDENT PRESS STUDENT SENATE Gender Neutral Housing Proposed to SA By TYLER MCNEIL it,” Michael Christakis, vice presi- you want, not because there’s dent of Student Affairs, said. one person of the opposite sex,” Student Association senators Resolution sponsors, Rachel said Naoum. “Males and females showered praise for a call to make Eager and Nadia Naoum, were live right across the hall from one gender neutral housing available also critical of university policy. another so I don’t understand why on all University at Albany living They criticized the Residential they can’t live together on any areas on Wednesday. Life ’s current section-limited living area.” But Residential Life has yet to model, advocating for students in Gender inclusive housing op- embrace the resolution. Carol Per- high academic standing to select tions have been available since rin, director of Residential Life, gender neutral housing beyond 2012 after being recommended denied any need to expand the specific areas. to the university by the LGBTQI housing program across campus Housing fluctuates yearly concerns advisory committee two under current demand. based on availability. This year, years prior. The move was one of “Right now, based on our Residential Life received backlash several suggestions made by the numbers and the demand, we can’t over the distance between gender committee which included estab- accommodate that request,” Perrin neutral housing clusters on Empire lishing gender-neutral restrooms said. Commons and the Podium, a and changing rooms. What’s more, such requests roughly seven-minute walk. This was the second time SA could be stalled by structural While applying for gender neu- passed gender-neutrality legisla- setbacks. Some living areas such tral housing, Naoum became upset tion. Last year, the senate passed a as Alumni Quad and Dutch Quad by her choices on Empire Com- resolution that called for gender- lack the space provided for gender mons. Unsatisfied with Residen- neutral bathrooms. neutral housing, which is limited tial Life’s response, she decided to The resolution was passed on to apartment clusters and suite draft the current resolution, later the same day as President Donald sections. Tyler Mcneil / Albany Student Press co-sponsored by the senate body. Trump rolled back federal guide- “That becomes a little bit Rachel Eager and Nadia Naoum present a gender inclusive hous- “So I believe that everybody lines which allowed transgender dicey there, but I don’t think we ing expansion resolution in front of the SA senate. who fills out the application students to use any bathroom that wouldn’t be averse to looking at should be able to live wherever matches their gender identity. occurred in West Africa from March diseases,” Yigit said. HEALTH 2014 to March 2016, according to His team included graduate EBOLA the Centers for Disease Control and students Mustafa Balcioglu and Muhit Continued from Page 1 Prevention. Rana. They developed the method In total, 11, 325 people died in over the course of two years, and Campus Events If the tests are successful, the the outbreak and there were 28,652 then it took one year to apply it to the company and the research team would suspected, probable, and confirmed Ebola scenario.